


pull me into the light

by mauvepens



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Leo never sleeps pass it on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:13:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28350684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mauvepens/pseuds/mauvepens
Summary: "Listen, I know your natural state is being constantly awake, but this can't keep happening. This isn't even the first time. Also, I'm pretty sure Solace over there is around 20 seconds away from murdering you".
Relationships: Piper McLean & Leo Valdez
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	pull me into the light

Leo hasn't left bunker 9 for...5 days? He's lost count. He sends up a silent prayer to his father for that magic toolbelt. He definitely could have used something that gives free food during the years he spent running from foster homes. Why does everyone think he's so skinny and short, anyway? Apparently no one has put together the whole severely malnutritioned thing yet, which Leo is somewhat grateful for.

He remembered the nights he had spent curled in the corner of a damp sewer, his stomach roaring with hunger, watching the rats scuttle in the corner-and that's enough. No need to send himself down _that_ path again. Anyway, back to the bunker. 

The Argo II had been behind schedule for the longest time, and Annabeth started frequently joining him for all-nighters, both of them frantically working. He and Annabeth were actually pretty good friends now. At first, she had completely terrified Leo. She still did, but they both recognized each other's value now, and ended up being a good team. Leo was working on the engine room, the place he was having the most trouble with. He recognized the fact that it probably wasn't good for him to not see sunlight for that long, but Leo was _so_ close. A couple extra days without sleep probably wasn't going to kill him. 

From somewhere behind Leo, there was a loud clattering sound. The huge door to Bunker 9 had swung open, allowing Leo to see the outside. There...wasn't actually much to see. Apparently, Leo had just lost all concept of time, since the sky was just lightening with morning, nowhere near the afternoon he had been expecting. 

"Leo? I know you're somewhere here. Don't make me charm you." Leo gulped. Piper had found him. He had been expecting her to drag him out sometime soon, but she had probably gotten busy with Aphrodite duties. Leo squeezed himself tighter into the corner between the wall and the Argo, hoping she would give up sooner or later. He got in a couple more minutes of calculations before Piper moved aside a stack of boxes and stared down at him, triumphant. 

"Where the fuck have you been? I haven't seen you for days!" As Piper walked closer to Leo, her angry expression softened. Leo considered what he looked like right now. He didn't have much time for hair care, so his thick curls were all over the place. Leo had been running off of black coffee and adrenaline for days by this point, so he suspected his under-eye circles were deeper than the Mariana Trench. Leo closed his eyes and sighed. 

"Hi, Pipes. Listen, I really appreciate the whole checking in thing, but I'm doing perfectly fine. No need to stress or anything. Go back to camp. I'll see you soon". After a beat of silence, Leo cracked an eye open. Piper was staring him straight in the face, with a slightly wounded expression. 

"You really don't remember?" she asked, fingers fiddling with her choppy hair.

Leo tried to think back. It wasn't Christmas, Easter, or Halloween. "Is there some random Greek holiday that I'm missing?" For whatever reason, that just caused Piper's face to slump even more. 

"Leo, it's your birthday today," she sniffed, running a hand across her nose. "And I haven't seen you in forever, and I really, really miss you". 

Leo's heart dropped. He tried to count back the days, and Piper was right. Today was his birthday. Additionally, Leo realized that he probably hadn't held a substantial conversation with Piper for around a good amount of time.

Leo reached out for Piper, pulling her into a hug. She clung tight to him, making Leo feel even worse for the time he spent ignoring her. "Sorry I haven't been out for a while," he muttered into her hair. "It's just the Argo, I need to get it done soon. I promise I'll spend more time with you". 

Piper pulled away from him, smoothing her hair down and putting on a bright grin. "Well, it's your sweet 16. What do you want to do?" Leo stood up with Piper, staggering a bit as a wave of exhaustion hit him. They linked arms and started walking towards the door, Piper rambling about the wide range of options available to him. "I mean, we could sneak out of camp and borrow a car to take a joyride, or we could try to sneak into a club, or we could-," As she talked, Leo leaned against a wall to get his bearings, head spinning. Suddenly, he dropped like a stone. The last thing Leo saw was Piper's concerned face leaning over him. 

______

Leo woke up in a clean white bed, a stark contrast from his normal oil splattered sleeping conditions. Sitting next to him in a wire chair was Piper, with a small container balanced on her lap as she slept. The infirmary was busy today, with a mass of kids swarming around one bed. From the group, one recognizably blond head popped up and turned in Leo's direction. 

"Leo," Will Solace called, waving his hand as he jogged over, "Nice to see you awake". 

"Um, hi," Leo said as he awkwardly waved back. "What exactly am I doing here?" 

With that, Will's normally sunny expression clouded over. He crossed his arms, "You're here because of severe exhaustion. Seriously, do you ever sleep? Piper dragged you to the infirmary when you collapsed". Will gently shook Piper awake, one of his hands on the container on her lap to keep it from falling. As she stretched, Will turned back to Leo. 

"I'll leave you to this one. Believe me, I will be supremely pissed if I see you in my infirmary again". With that, Will pivoted on his heel and walked back to the group of people.

"You absolute dumbass. Is this what happens when I don't watch you? " Piper asked, her voice tinged with anger. 

"Okay, okay, so maybe I skipped a couple days. It's all for the greater good, Piper". 

Piper sighed, sounding as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "Listen, I know your natural state is being constantly awake, but this can't keep happening. This isn't even the first time. Also, I'm pretty sure Solace over there is around 20 seconds away from murdering you". 

Leo rolled his eyes, but nodded his agreement anyway. There would be no point in arguing with Piper. 

"Anyway, you slept through your birthday, but I brought you cake anyway. Chocolate, right?" 

"Yeah. I'm surprised you remembered". Piper tilted her head slightly to the side with a puzzled face. 

"Of course I remembered," she said, shrugging. "You're my best friend". She brought out two forks. "Cheers," Piper said, lifting her slice in a toast. "To you". 

Last year at this time, Leo was in between foster homes. He had spent his 15th birthday under a bridge, thinking about his bleak future. Now, Piper was next to him, laughing as she tried to cram cake into her mouth. 

Leo smiled brighter and grabbed a slice of cake, lifting it up in a salute. "Cheers".

**Author's Note:**

> According to Google, Leo's birthday happened on the quest, but for story purposes it's sometime in the spring.


End file.
